Woulfe completes feasibility study at Sangdong project in Korea

Woulfe Mining has completed a feasibility study for its wholly owned Sangdong mining project in South Korea.

Based on mining 1.2t from the main and footwall ore bodies above the valley floor, the feasibility study has indicated probable tungsten reserves of 13.3t at 0.425% WO3 with a cut-off of 0.24%.

According to the study, the mine's life expectancy is 11.5 years based on reserves.

Woulfe Mining CEO and president Brian Wesson said, "This robust feasibility study marks a significant milestone in the development of the Sangdong tungsten project, and sets in motion our strategic partnership with IMC and the finalising of the funding for the entire project, moving to production 2013."

The feasibility study was conducted by engineering firm TetraTech, which estimated initial capital costs to be $151.3m to develop the mine, including a pre-development cost of $8.2m and a contingency of $7.8m.

A provision for the extraction of by-product molybdenum and bismuth in a sulphide concentrate circuit has also been indicated by the study.

The underground tungsten mine will include a process plant and an ammonium para-tungstate (APT) plant to produce an APT final product.

Following a 15 month construction phase beginning in June 2012, the first ore to be mined by mechanised drift and fill methods will be fed to the process plant in 2013.